Tool for removing and replacing springs



March 30,y 195,4 w. MCFADDEN TOOL FOR REMOVING AND REPLACING SPRINGS Filed NOV. 8, 1950 INVENToR. Maf/Pew /Vc/-mafw Patented Mar. .30, 1954 TOOL FOR REMOVING AND REPLACING SPRINGS Warren McFadden, Granville, Ohio, assigner to Denison University, Granville, hio a. corporation of Ohio Application November 8, 1950, Serial No. 194,676

3 Claims. 1

The invention set forth herein relates to a tool so organized that it may be advantageously used in connection with the application of springs in structures wherein it is necessary to. expand or stretch the spring in order to attach the spring to.- a, cooperating structure.

More specifically, the tool as it will be subsequently described is useful in mounting springs suchl as are customarily used as a part of a construction of certain types of bed springs.

There is a type oi bed spring which is widely used in which the top and foot rail of the bed spring are joined by means of strip metal members which at their respective ends are connected to springs and which under tension are then connected to the head and foot rail respectively.

In attaching one of the springs, it is necessary in order that the joining strips shall be under tension, to stretch the spring at the time the spring is connected with the strip and adjacent each of the bed springs. Inasmuch as these springs are springs with a rather stiff action, it is difficult and a time consuming job to make the iinal attachment of the tensioned spring between the metal strip and the rail of the bed spring.

The type of bed spring which has been mentioned is one that is very widely employed for beds used in dormitories and the like, and because 0f the fact that due to usage, usually rather hard usage, the springs, or some of them, become stretched beyond the point of return, thus lessening tension upon one or more of the strips which support the mattress, and thereby provide an unequal support for the mattress which renders the bed unsatisfactory in use.

The above situation isy easily remedied by replacing those springs which have become stretched, but the amount of effort and difficulty in the actual replacing of the springs is out of proportion to the apparent simplicity of the problem.

In the specific application which is herein described, the tool is so organized that using one of the rails of such a bed spring as has heretofore been referred to, as a supporting point, the spring may be readily manipulated to stretch a sufficient amount to make connection with a metal strip of such a bed spring and secure its proper fastening thereto and under proper tension. Y

Referring to` the drawings,

Fig. 1 is a perspective View showing a portion of a bed spring and the tool as it is applied in the operation of attaching an end of a spring to a metal strip of the bed spring;

Fig. 2 is an elevation of the tool with a portion of the handle of the tool omitted;

y y Fig. 3 is a section upon the lmet- 3 of Fig. 2; S. Figni is asection on the line lle-4 ofFig. '2,

Referring in the iirst instance to Fig. 2, the tool comprises a thrust member support l which at its lower end may be provided with suitable means, such as notches 2, for engagement with the rail of a bed spring. As shown in Fig. 3 the member which has been generally designated by the reference numeral l comprises two members la and lb, which are spaced apart and secured byy means of a spacer member 3. These members la and ib are spaced apart for the purpose of providing a more substantial engagement. with the rail and of spanning the space adjacent. to the hole in the rail of the bed spring to which one end of a spring is attached and thereby permitting the support to straddle a spring which is about to be operated upon.

The side members la and I b are in the portion thereof beyond the spacing member 3. bent inwardly so as to be parallel andclose to each other by providing a space between them for purposes which will be subsequently described.

A lever member d which at one end is so shaped as to provide a handle portion 4a is pivotally mounted upon the support member l and it extends between the side members and is mounted upon a pin or pivotal structure such as indicated at 5, more particularly in Fig. 3. The member 4 toward an end thereof is provided With an angular portion lib which is pivotally connected, as indicated at fic,r to an arcuate member 6.

In order to vary the leverage of the member 4 with respect to the thrust member support I, the member l. may be provided with holes or notches l so that the pin 5 may cooperate with any one of a series of holes such as l.

|Ihe arcuate ratchet member 3 is provided with a series of teeth,- such as indicated at 8, and these teeth are adapted for cooperation with the end of the support member lby providing the end of the support member i with a beveled corner portion $3, or, preferably, by providing a platev l0 between the parallel side members and securing the plate by means of bolts, rivets or the like, as indicated at l l. In the construction just referred to, the end of the plate l0 will be in position to engage with anyone of the teeth 8 of the ratchet member 6.

In order to retain the ratchet member 6 in its proper position and prevent its unrestrained movement, a resilient member, such as a spring l2, is attached at one of its ends, to the end or the arcuate member 6 and at its other end to the lever member t.

The end of the member 6 is provided with one or more hooks. As shown in the drawing, it is provided with two hooks i3y and I3a which extend at right angles to each other so that a proper hook may be utilized in connection with a spring, the end coil of which lies in a. vertical plane, or the spring hasv its endcoi-lr liiingraa horizontal plane.

In using the tool in question its use may be described in connection with a bed spring which has end rails, one of which is indicated at I3 and the other is not shown. The rail is provided with a series of holes I4 into which the free curved, looped end of a spring I5 may be secured.

It will be understood that there are a series of such springs which are connected to the rail and these springs are normally secured each to a strip, usually a metal strip I6, which at its opposite end is connected with a spring which is connected to the opposite rail of the bed spring. The number of strips and cooperating springs are dependent upon the width of the bed spring.

In using the tool to replace a spring, the thrust member support I is caused to engage the rail of the bed spring with the spaced members Ia and Ib straddling the spring. Assuming that a spring is to be removed, the hook I3 or I3a, as the case may be, is engaged with the last hook coil of the spring1 and the lever 4 is depressed, which of course will cause the spring to be expanded. The force of reaction incident to maintaining the spring in expanded condition is transmitted through the pivot 5 to the support I and thence to the member I3. Concurrently, the end of the support I will be in engagement with the ratchet teeth of the member 5 and the member 6 will be caused to move upwardly with respect to the support I and when the spring has been stretched suiciently so that that portion of the spring which is in engagement with the hole at the end of a strip I3 may be removed, the end of the member I will be in er1- gagement with a tooth of the ratchet member and therefore the spring will be held in extended condition and so enable the operator to remove the end of the spring from its engagement with the strip I5. After this, Vthe disengagement of the spring i5 with the rail i3 may be accomplished.

On the other hand, in inserting a new spring, one end of the spring is attached through a hole in the rail of the bed spring, the thrust member support I caused to be placed in engagement with the rail and caused to straddle the spring, the hook I3 or I3a, as the case may be, caused to engage the looped end of the spring and by manipulation of the handle 4 the spring will be stretched sufficiently to enable the looped end of the spring to engage with the hole in a strip such as I6. The force of reaction incident to maintaining the spring in expanded condition is transmitted through the pivot 5 to the support I and thence to the member I3. As before noted, as the handle 4 is operated the member 6 is raised and the end of the support is caused to engage with an appropriate ratchet tooth which will hold the lever f8 in the adjusted position necessary to permit the attachment of the spring to the strip I6. After this has been accomplished, the ratchet engagement may be broken by movement of the member t which may be conveniently accomplished by means of a member I'I which may be engaged by a finger of the operator and which will cause the member 5 to move around its pivot 4c and release the ratchet engagement.

In using the tool as has heretofore been explained in all instances depression of the handle of the lever 4 stretches the spring which is being operated upon and the reaction thrust incident to such stretching of the spring is transmitted from the hook which engages with the end of the spring through the support member I to the rail I3. Therefore the member I not only acts as a support with respect to the lever 4 but also acts as a thrust member in accordance with the foregoing explanation.

It will be apparent from the foregoing description that the foregoing arrangement of parts and members is particularly designed with respeci; to the purpose and function of removing or installing springs wherein the springs in the device or article with which they are used are normally under tension, and, further, that it wil be apparent that the use of the tool in questio and for the purpose as dened facilitates the removal and replacement or the original placement of a spring which is otherwise a tedious and difcult hand operation.

Having thus described my invention, I claim:

l. A tool for mounting springs comprisingy a thrust member support said support at one end being provided with spaced legs and each of the legs being provided with means to retentively engage a relatively xed member, a lever having a portion forming a handle, said lever being pivoted upon the support intermediate the ends of the lever, a ratchet member having a hook at the end thereof said member being pivoted upon said lever adjacent the end of the lever and said member being provided with teeth adapted to be engaged by the support in operation of the tool, a tension spring connecting the end portion of the ratchet member with the said lever.

2. A tool for mounting springs comprising a thrust member support provided with means to retentively engage a relatively fixed member, a lever having a portion forming a handle said lever being pivoted upon the support intermediate the ends of the lever, an arcuate shaped member having hook means at one end thereof said arcuate shaped member being pivoted at its hook end upon said lever adjacent to the end of the lever and said arcuate member being provided with teeth adapted to be engaged by the support in the operation of the tool and a spring having one end thereof engaging with the arcuate shaped member and the other end thereof engaging `with said lever.

3. A tool for mounting springs comprising a support which at one end is provided with means to retentively engage a Xed member, said support at its opposite end being fashioned as a pawl, a lever adapted at one end to serve as a handle and adjacent its opposite end pivotally connected to said support, a curved ratchet member pivotally connected to said lever beyond the point of pivot of said lever upon the support, a tension spring connecting the free end of the ratchet member to the said lever whereby the ratchet member is normally held in contact with the pawl at the end of the support and a hook means at the end of the ratchet member and located beyond the point of pivot of said ratchet member upon the lever.

WARREN MCFADDEN.

References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 832,846 Rabey May 7, 1907 1,322,433 Harsley et al Nov. 18, 1919 1,424,512 Musgrave Aug. 1, 1922 1,893,962 Rowan Jan. 10, 1933 1,974,363 Miller Sept. 18, 1934 2,357,828 Hurt Sept. 12,1944 

